Snap fastener for use with buttons



July 9, 1957 L, F. MEYER A 2,798,273

SNAP FSVTENER FOR USE WITH BUTTONS Filed April 1o. 1953 ATTORNEY United States Patent O 2,798,273 SNAP FASTENER roRUsE WITH-BUTTONS Lenore F. -Meyer, 'Miamiie'acln Fla. Application Apn'i 10,;1953, serial No. 347,916:

' 1 Claim.; (Cl. S24- may This invention relates-generally: to snap fasteners which can be sewed to any standard button for use on garments.

It is a principal object of'my invention to provide a snap fastener to which garment buttons may `be sewed, to permit the readyremoval. from and replacement of the said buttons on a garment.

Another object of my invention is to provide a snap fastener constructed and arranged so that it can "be used in connection with any standard typefbutton,v either of lthe utility or ornamental type.

A further object `of the present invention is to produce a simple and inexpensive device by which any person may take any standard type button and bymeans of my` invention quickly render itremovable for Vpurposes of cleaning or other purposes.

It is Well known that on both mens and womens garments, particularly on womens garments, it is frequently necessary to remove the buttons before having them washed or cleaned, in order to prevent the damage or destruction of the buttons. The removal and replacement of the buttons is a time consuming and inconvenient operation. By use of my present invention, the buttons become readily removable with no ditlculty and any 'buttons that the -owner has on the garment or wishes to purchase for the garment for replacement purposescan be used.

For an understanding of my invention reference is made to the vaccompanying drawing in which Figure l is a perspective view of the male portion of the snap fastener of my invention.

Figure 2 is an elevation view in partial cross section Ishowing the male portion of the snap fastener of my invention used in connection with one type of button.

Figure 3 is a partial cross sectional elevation view of the female portion of the snap fastener corresponding to the male portion shown in Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a cross sectional elevation Ashowing the male portion of my snap fastener used in conjunction with another type of button.

Figure 5 is a cross sectional elevation View showing the male portion of the snap yfastener used in conjunction with another type button.

Figure 6 is a cross sectional elevation view showing one standard type of button of the type shown in Figure 2.

Figure 7 is a partial cross sectional elevation View of another type of button.

Figure 8 is a plan view `of another type of button.

Figure 9 is a cross sectional elevation view of the type of button shown in Figure 8.

Figure l() is a plan View of Figure 5 viewed from below.

In general, the types of buttons in use today may be divided into three groups: The ilat four-hole or two-hole buttons, as illustrated in Figures 8 and 9; the button having a single hole for sewing, said hole being -contained in a protrusion `on the bottom side of the button, as illustrated in Figure 6; and the button having a single hole in the form of a metal loop 16 protruding from the bottom of the button, as illustrated in Figure 7.

Generally speaking, the Hat four-holed'or two-holed button of Figures 8 'and 9 is a button in which `the'threads show and is more commonlyusedas a utility button to hold two parts of` a garment together, whereas the single holed buttons, as illustrated in Figures. 6 and 7 arev buttons in which the thread does not show and is more commonly used for ornamental purposes. Actually, both types may be used for either utility or ornamentation, if desired.

As mentioned above, one of the principal objects of this invention is to produce a snap 4fastener which will accommodate all three tyPCs of buttons.

Referring again totherdrawing, in Figure l isv illustrated the male portion of my snap fastener consisting of a cup portion 1 which has four slots or perforations 2. 'spaced symmetrically' so that each perforation Z will' be directly opposite another perforation 2 around the vertical Wall 3 of the cup 1, said vertical. wall'l3 being per-V pendicular to the plane of the button 10.V The horizontal portion 4 of the cup 1 Ialso has four slotted perforations 5 spaced symmetrically around .the horizontal portion 4 which is parallel to the plane of the button 10.

The perforations 2V. land 5. are large enough to easily pass a needle and thread through them. They are illustrated as Islots but they can be vany shapedv perforation, such ascircular, oval or square, so long as they `are large enough toLeasily passa needlel and thread. The perforations Z lin' walll3' shouldlvbe `even numbered and sym'- metrically positioned around cup 1, so that there are always two perforations 2 facing each other for ease in sewing.

The perforations 2 land 5 are shown as oval shaped slots with their longest dimension positioned parallel to the circumference of cup 1. Perforations 5 could also be oval shaped slots with their longest dimension positioned radially with respect to cup 1.

The protrusion 7 which extends down from cup 1 is of standard shape and size, of the type used in gripper fasteners. This cooperates with the corresponding female portion which is also of the standard gripper type. The female gripper type as illustrated in Figure 3 s of standard type in which the gripping force is applied by three or four upstanding members positioned in circular fashion to grasp the protrusion 7 of the male portion shown in Figure l. Other forms of snap fasteners such as those in which the female portion uses parallel wires under tension to hold the male portion can also be used. These other, different, forms of the female portion are not here illustra-ted since my invention can 'be used with any of the dierent types of female snap fasteners.

When any standard button is used incooperation with my snap fastener, as for example ythe type illustrated in Figure 6, it can be readily sewed to the cup 1 of the male portion of my snap fastener, as illustrated in Figure 2 where the thread 8 is shown going through the slotted perforations 2 and hole 14 in button 10. The thread 8 is returned to its original perforations 2 by going around the side of cup 1 and therefore does not appear in the drawing.

When a button of the type illustrated in Figure 7, having a metallic loop 16 below it is used, it is preferable to use a small felt disc 9 inside of the cup 1 as illustrated in Figure 4. The felt disc 9 has a hole in its center into which the metal loop 16 tits. The purpose of this is to keep the button from moving around with relation to the cup 1. As shown in Figure 4, a button having a metal loop 16 is sewed to the cup 1 by use of perforations 2, the thread going through the felt 9 and the metal loop 16.

When a flat button of the type illustrated in Figures 8 and 9 is used, then it is sewed to the cup 1 by use of slots 5 and holes 13, as illustrated in Figures 5 and 10.

The Figure 10 shows the path of the thread through the perforations 5.

Whenever any standard button is used it can, as described above, be readily fastened by being sewn to cup 1 by use of either perforations 2 or 5, whichever is more convenient. The female portion of the snap fastener is readily attached to the material of the garment where it is desired to place the button or attached by any other means such as five metallic prongs 11 which are bent over by use of a small hammer and anvil, or any other standard means of fastening the female portion of the snap fastener to the garment 12. One prong 11 is shown in Figure 3. Further details of fastening the female of the snap fastener to the garment 12 are not shown since they are well known in the art.

The button is then held in the desired position on the garment by the snap fastener. When it is desired to send -the garment to the dry cleaners or to wash it, the buttons with the male portion are simply snapped olf the garment and only the female portion of the snap fastener remains in place.

In view of the fact that the garment is usually ironed after it is washed or cleaned, it is desirable that the only portion of the snap fastener remaining on the garment be the female portion which will lie at and will not be injured by ironing. If the male portion were to remain on the garment it might readily be deformed and damaged in ironing.

From the above description, it is apparent that any one can, by use of my novel snap fastener having the cupshaped body on the male portion, readily attach any I forations in the horizontal wall of said cup shaped body,

an ornamental button having a metallic loop on its bottom and a perforated felt disc to receive said loop, said felt disc being positioned inside the said cup shaped body, said perforations being positioned to receive fastening means to attach said male portion to the said metallic loop, said male portion having a dependent means for frictional engagement with a female portion of said snap fastener.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 358,080 Smith Feb. 22, 1887 1,160,591 Gerber Nov. 16, 1915 2,502,034 Bowie Mar. 28, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS 135,717 Austria Dec. 11, 1933 4,049 Great Britain of 1905 786,222 France June 3, 1935 

